Electronic messaging is a general method for sending and receiving communications as digital data between computers on a network. The Internet has dramatically increased electronic messaging amongst millions of users on global data networks. Many different forms of electronic messaging are being used to send and receive communications in a wide variety of forms of structured and unstructured data. Businesses make extensive use of electronic messaging to conduct business communications and transactions between trading partners. Electronic mail (or email) is a popular form of electronic messaging for communications between users. Typical email messages are composed of typed text or a combination of typed text and text or graphical files that are attached to the email message and opened with the appropriate processor or viewer. As the popularity of the Internet continues to grow worldwide, more and more people numbering in the billions are expected to use email for communications.
Recent advances in technology and standards have expanded the types and forms of devices that can connect to the Internet. In addition to dial-up and online connections between users computers and servers that provide information services and email services, many types of other devices are being connected to the Internet for communications purposes, including personal digital assistants (PDAs), text messaging pagers, digital cellphones enabled with Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), advanced digital game machines, digital set top boxes for televisions, and even CPU-controlled household appliances. Many of these devices having Internet access do not require or are not adapted to use a keyboard for inputting data. While there are other types of input devices that enable handwritten or handdrawn input, such as touch sensitive screens, stylus pads, optical pens, etc., they have not been enabled for electronic messaging and other communication functions.
Handwritten or handdrawn input can be more convenient to use than a keyboard and, in many situations, would be uniquely necessary for certain types of communication. Many written language systems, such as Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Thai, Sanskrit, etc., use cursive or ideographic characters that are very difficult to input by an equivalent method via keyboard. For example, text input of the Japanese written language requires the use of simulated phonetic spelling methods (romanji, hiragana, and/or katakana) to select from thousands of possible kanji characters. Many mobile devices such as PDAs do not have keyboards due to their limited size and form, or would become cumbersome to use if a keyboard must be attached or if text must be entered by cursoring through displays of softkeys. Disabled or hospitalized people who have limited hand mobility may not be able to use a keyboard effectively. Current legal and financial institutions still rely heavily on the use of handwritten signatures to validate a person's unique identity. And in many instances, people find it much easier to communicate an idea by drawing a picture, or prefer handwriting or drawing a picture as more personal or expressive communication than typing text on a keyboard.
There is thus a clear need for an electronic messaging system that allows people to communicate with their own handwriting or drawing, as contrasted to typed text. This need will continue to grow as the numbers of global users and Internet-connected devices increase. None of the current electronic messaging methods allow a user to compose, manipulate, store, send, receive, and view a handwritten or handdrawn email message.